Overrated laughingstock
by stelenaarelovely
Summary: S4 Stebekah One-Shot: "Stefan Salvatore wallowed in his latest intuition: What a highly overrated laughingstock love actually was."


Overrated laughingstock

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Logical vs. Lightheaded

Rational vs. Irrational

Sad vs. angry

Alone vs. bourbon

Stefan Salvatore had known alcohol would make a good friend at some tough times but he never thought he was the one to lean on this friend.

Although he had Caroline - Good old crazy Caroline – he had sent her away out of her own house actually; and she didn't even argue gotten aware of his feelings and aware of the fact as much as she wants to, she can't help him. No-one can.

The bottle of Damon's best bourbon is almost half emptied; and it´s a damn good feeling how the glass lies in his hand while he takes another sip and then another one before he titles back his head.

Alcohol makes you feel free, changes positions and point of views rarely for the worse than for the better. But regarding to Stefan's momentary state it can't get any worse; the rules of nature are temporary suspended. The liquor fans out through his body in a much more harmless way than human blood would do but not less satisfying. There simply was no point in losing tracks for him when the last thing he wanted was to become the _problematic kid-brother_ again. The bourbon forced a smile on Stefan's lips and he didn't even try to whip it off, this comfortable feeling which remembered him of how he used to laugh and smile instead of what he did now. Maybe he would stay drunk for the rest of his eternity making a new start without any history or magic. A place he had never been before where he was completely unknown.

Again a sip from the glass. How could it be the glass was already empty? A vampire is strong and untouchable, for him rules simply are non-existent. But no matter if you are human or vampire, alcohol does influence your physical reactions. Maybe that´s a good thing Stefan thought a he stumbled over his own feet. To lie on your backside flatly broads your mind: Your senses are heightened in a different way than usual for a vampire. A vampire´s mind never stands still whereas a human mind is classified to be limited. But for Stefan who hated his existence – every day a little bit more – his rebelling stomach was making him more alive than he had felt in a long time. He could just lay here, certain no-one would recognize his absence much less, miss him.

Right before the alcohol reaches its zenith is the most precious moment and the reasons why alcohol is your best friend: Pure euphoria. It´s the moment in which laughing and crying collide to create a smooth transition; and suddenly you can't remember how to laugh or why to laugh at all with all the tears being so omnipresent on your face and all the well-disposed plans are buried under a tone of pain. He was strong, always had been. But sometimes the actual strength is to be weak.

"You wouldn't believe me I´m sorry anyways."

His head pounded like hell, heavy as if it was made of cement, it was hard for Stefan to locate where this voice was coming from. He reasoned it was the door case although his view was dulled.

"Rebekah?" He was sounding less when he had intended to. Crawling on all fours he finally managed to stand up even though he was quite unsteady. "How nice of you to take a seat yourself."

Rebekah had lounged herself in the armchair. "Didn't want to interrupt you while you…whatever you were doing." She gave him a whiff of a smile. She had come to apologize for locking them up and for compelling Elena; it was surely needed, having a look at Stefan. He definitely had had a few drinks, a few too many. His eyes were glossy partly from the alcohol partly the crying had made things worse.

"You want a drink?" He offered her a new bottle since the one standing beside the armchair was already emptied, slurring his own speech. She had expected him to be down but why was he alone? Where was Caroline? A boil of anger rushed through her body. It was no secret she never have had any real friends in her long life. The opportunities had been taken away from her rudely by Nick, by her mother just like Stefan's chances to live a happy life had been taken away firstly by Katherine and now by Elena Gilbert. Why do men always fall for the wrong women? Now wasn't the first time she wondered _what if…?_ Thinking of the twenties and the Stefan Salvatore she had met this night so long ago. She was convinced she would have made him happy, maybe he would or would not been on human blood but he used to be one of the most powerful vampires of all time: being Nicks heir gave him the worlds roof. Stefan would have gone rid of her brother.

Stefan didn't seem to notice Rebekah's rollercoaster thoughts. He just came back to his new best friend aka the second bottle of bourbon. "Yes, yes really. I´ve emptied the bottle all by myself." He replied to the unanswered question while raising the glass and making a bow. Rebekah's ironical smile made Stefan stopping in his movement. "What´s so funny, Bekah?"

She looked at him in wonder. He never called her _"Bekah". _Loosing leverage of her so well studied coldness she replied truthfully: "I came here to apologize." Only to get rewarded with Stefan's true and joyful laugh, owed by his momentary state. Suddenly he walked across the room in vampire speed stopping directly in front of her leaning in so closely she was able to smell him and see the hard features in his angelic face. The last time she had been that close to him he had worn the same hard expression as now but when he was brave and confident in the 20s he now only seemed to be careworn by life itself.

During your darkest hours is when friends can turn out to be foes and the ones you counted on the least are exactly who you need. Lexi had been the one and only: She would tell him where to go, what to do with his life – this gift that is immortality- Only later he did figure out what she did was nothing but selflessly helping not self-interest or a demonstration of predominance but a demonstration of what his life could be like; completely unvalued he was a vampire, only focused on the man she knew he could be. Had he valued Lexi and her friendship highly enough or taken her for granted? _He had…he hadn't…he had lost himself and her along the way._

"Do you want a drink?" All of a sudden he pulled away from her wearing a suspicious look on his face. "Drink?"

"Yes, please." She said trying to hide her sudden rise of nervousness. "I really am sorry, Stefan. I really am." She tried again to force a reaction from him but the heartbroken vampire didn't respond. "You want some ice?" – He asked completely uninterested.

"Stefan!" Of course he was heart-broken, for sure he wasn't in chatting manner; Yes, his world was like shattered glass by now. No wonder, he hated her: Selfishly as she was, she only had worked on her own efforts. Not considering what the consequences might be and what these meant for him…to him. Elena this little bitch and her surprised and happy face as she admitted she actually loves Damon. _The pain on Stefan's face when reality hit him hard. _The caring part of hers wanted to be there for him while the other- the selfish one- only cared about herself: She was hated yet she didn't want to be hated anymore. Not by him. So, for that she needed his forgiveness. Standing right behind him now she felt how tensed he was, massaging his shoulders.

"It´s not in your nature to be sorry, Rebekah." Said reared back like a bitten prey.

"Alright. I only wanted… don't know what I wanted," she replied with evident hurt in her voice, grabbing the glass and sipped it down before she turned away for the leaving. "No. No! I am going to tell you what I have to say and I don't care if you want to hear it or not." A nonchalant gesture of him proved how broken he was. He wasn't supposed to act all nonchalantly. He was the caring Salvatore.

"Since you want to help me…go on…help me." He whispered though standing on the room´s opposite wall but of course Rebekah heard him. "How?"

In the blink of an eye he stood in front of her smirking; rewarding her hesitant reply with a cold stare that made her freeze. Once again she saw what it was that kept her trapped into the enigma that was Stefan Salvatore. Nor Katherine or Elena had had a keen eye for the treasure they were holding. At least Elena's kindness had showed her love was truly existent; their love seemed to be unique and unbreakable. And that´s what makes Elena an undeniably greater slut than Katherine had ever been.

Stefan was caring, lovely and friendly; these habits disguise what a proud man he is; that he is able to run rings around Damon when it comes to being a badass. While Damon is a wannabe of the first water, Stefan is pure in his love as well as in his anger.

"Make me forget", he whispered seductively into her ear shell.

"How?", she repeated almost drowning in his nonverbal answer: Kissing her earlobe, her cheek down to her jawline, he finally reached her neck; slightly disappointed his love bite wasn't meant to last. He chuckled by seeing her disappointment as he withdrew his lips from her skin. "You can open your eyes", a self-pleased tone in his voice. "What were you dreaming about?"

"The 20s." _"Our night" _she wanted to say but it adhered to her tongue. Stefan nodded slowly, gazing down her body, feeling the shivers running down her spine that playing with her tank top caused her.

"When I came home…" he continued …"and had three, four glasses emptied, I came to the conclusion – a conclusion I already had figured out a long time ago. Erasing my memory of what had taken place in Chicago was wrong. To erase these memories is never right, Rebekah." She blinked two times giving him a questioning look. "Memories are what make us, _us. _I only became what I was because of that. But memories are too important to be left behind", he nodded in reassurance.

"But Elena…" Rebekah intended to speak but Stefan's lips on hers silenced her immediately. He moaned softly. Smiling into the kiss she recognized their perfection.

"Elena…was a necessary evil to find my ways", he whispered on her lips.

And while Rebekah Mikaelson hoped to reschedule where they had been stopped once – Stefan Salvatore wallowed in his latest intuition: What a highly overrated laughingstock love actually was.


End file.
